Ankober serin explained

The Ankober serin (Crithagra ankoberensis) is a species of finch in the family Fringillidae. It is a small brown seedeater, about 12 centimeters or 5 inches in length with brown upperparts and its head and breast distinguished with heavy buffy-colored streaking. It is gregarious and is often encountered in flocks. Its song consists of a constant, low twitter.^[1]

This bird is endemic to Ethiopia, inhabiting steep rocky slopes and high cliff-tops; the reported range of the Ankober serin consists of several disjointed areas in northern Shewa and in the northern Amhara Region.^[1] It is threatened by habitat loss.

The Ankober serin was formerly placed in the genus Serinus but phylogenetic analysis using mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences found that the genus was polyphyletic.^[2] The genus was therefore split and a number of species including the Ankober serin were moved to the resurrected genus Crithagra.^{[3] [4]}

Notes and References

1. Nigel Redman, Terry Stevenson, and John Fanshawe, Birds of the Horn of Africa: Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, and Socotra (Princeton: University Press, 2009), p. 454
2. Zuccon . Dario . Prŷs-Jones . Robert . Rasmussen . Pamela C. . Ericson . Per G.P. . 2012 . The phylogenetic relationships and generic limits of finches (Fringillidae) . Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution . 62 . 2 . 581–596 . 10.1016/j.ympev.2011.10.002 . 22023825.
3. Web site: Gill . Frank . Donsker . David . Finches, euphonias . World Bird List Version 5.2. International Ornithologists' Union. 5 June 2015 .
4. Swainson . William . William John Swainson . 1827 . On several forms in ornithology not hitherto defined . Zoological Journal . 3 . 348 .